Saturday, August 1, 2009

Grandson Alex and the members of the band, Metis, did a wonderful job Friday night at AfterShock in Merriam. We don't know anything yet about the recording company that came in from LA to hear them, but the boys did a great job of entertaining!

As for the event at ARTichokes, it was wonderful! I had many friends and family members come to see "my wall". We watched Becky Pashia and Mike Savage, each painting in their ownwell known styles.

ARTichokes is now closed for about 3 weeks, re-opening on August 21st with a brand new show. I am not sure how I will deal with them being closed, but I suppose I could consider painting at home....I wonder if I can!

Now, for the cooking thing.....As a chef, I receive a great number of phone calls concerning strange results in the kitchens of friends and family! I had a call this morning asking why her cake had a large raised area in the center, a dome. I knew the answer to that one, (the batter is too thick, too much flour) but so often I have to say “Let me check into that for you.” I can always Google the question, but I’m never sure if the answer will be right. I don’t have time to start experimenting to come up with the right answer! That is when I turn to Howard Hillman’s The New Kitchen Science. The book isn’t a new one, it was printed in 2003, and I have found it extremely helpful and accurate.

Kitchen science is fascinating, even to someone like me, a person who is controlled by the right side of the brain. I have considered the possibility that I have no left side at all! So, I rely on Hillman for answers.Not long ago, I had a question about cooking lobsters. She wanted to know if the lobster felt pain when you drop them in the boiling water. I always figured it had to be an unpleasant moment for the poor thing, but I really needed to do a little research. According to Hillman, many tests have been performed in hopes of answering this question. He gives several methods of killing the lobster; dropping head first into the boiling water is not one he recommends. It sounds logical that when he is dropped in, he has several seconds of agony, causing his muscles to spasm. That spasm makes your lobster tough! So here is what he suggests, plunge a knife tip into the lobster behind the head, to sever his spinal column, causing the lobster to feel no pain. I sort of liked his suggestion of floating your lobster in a bowl of wine. You get your lobster drunk and Ta-Da….no pain at all when you drop him in the pot of boiling water! Of course, this wine method adds more expense to an already expensive dinner! But I do think it is nice for Louie the Lobster to have one last party.

If you are interested in reading Hillman’s The New Kitchen Science, it is available at Border’s for $15.00.

Now, if you like, once you cook that lobster…..

Lobster rolls are sandwiches of a mayonnaise- based chilled lobster salad stuffed into a toasted sandwich roll, most often a hot dog bun. Servings: 44 cups of lobster meat from steamed lobsters(approximately 2

Combine all ingredients except lobster in a mixing bowl.Rough chop lobster meat an mix gently into dressing with a rubber spatula.Split a baguette open 3/4 of the way lengthwise and cut into 4 6-inch sandwiches. Buttter the inside generously and toast under broiler until golden brown.Fill with shredded lettuce and lobster salad.